BIG FISH SMALL POND
Our study of the film BIG FISH will be manifested through several challenges:
1. Fantasy Terminology
2. Creative Writing - A
3. Labors of Hercules
4. Viewing the film
5. Creative Writing - B
6. Trivia Challenges
7. Text from an interview with Daniel Wallace.
Each of the six are also listed below. Follow the directions and enjoy your journey.
1. Fantasy Terminology
2. Creative Writing - A
3. Labors of Hercules
4. Viewing the film
5. Creative Writing - B
6. Trivia Challenges
7. Text from an interview with Daniel Wallace.
Each of the six are also listed below. Follow the directions and enjoy your journey.
1. Fantasy Terminology
Using the links below, define each literary term in your packed. each are associated with the fantasy genre. Be sure your notes are specific enough to make an argument/assertion regarding the "slipstream" use of genre.
ENotes Index of Literary Terms
Lit Terms and Definitions
Gale's Glossary of Literary Terms
Magical Realism
ENotes Index of Literary Terms
Lit Terms and Definitions
Gale's Glossary of Literary Terms
Magical Realism
2. Creative Writing - A
Fort Ord Basic Training
John August, screenplay writer for BIG FISH, says: "The kind of stories we're telling in BF are almost like rituals. They're tales that have been told hundreds of times, not merely to recount what happened, but what SHOULD have happened. They're extreme versions of life, superlative versions of the way you'd like life to be."
What stories are often repeated in your family? What stories do people retell at family gatherings and holidays? What stories are passed down from generation to generation? Type a couple of them into a word document. Put multiple space between your stories. Be sure your stories include some amount of detail. Then, at the bottom of the page, type your name (for the teacher's tracking purpose -- your name WILL NOT be revealed to other students).
EXAMPLE:
My uncle was drafted in the middle of the Vietnam War. He came home “wild” just after bootcamp. in order to be my godfather. My parents were concerned he wouldn’t show up on time as the days slipped by building up to the baptism ceremony. Apparently, he drove across the country without sleep, drinking and smoking for the whole trip, finally arriving bleary-eyed and raucous. at the church, tucking in his shirttails, adjusting his hat on his new-shaven head. Imagine him in a serious and official ceremony in the church. The way he tells it, there was too much focus on him, standing at the font, so he decided to pinch me to make me cry, successfully taking the focus off him.
What stories are often repeated in your family? What stories do people retell at family gatherings and holidays? What stories are passed down from generation to generation? Type a couple of them into a word document. Put multiple space between your stories. Be sure your stories include some amount of detail. Then, at the bottom of the page, type your name (for the teacher's tracking purpose -- your name WILL NOT be revealed to other students).
EXAMPLE:
My uncle was drafted in the middle of the Vietnam War. He came home “wild” just after bootcamp. in order to be my godfather. My parents were concerned he wouldn’t show up on time as the days slipped by building up to the baptism ceremony. Apparently, he drove across the country without sleep, drinking and smoking for the whole trip, finally arriving bleary-eyed and raucous. at the church, tucking in his shirttails, adjusting his hat on his new-shaven head. Imagine him in a serious and official ceremony in the church. The way he tells it, there was too much focus on him, standing at the font, so he decided to pinch me to make me cry, successfully taking the focus off him.
3. Labors of Hercules
In the most simple form, the story of Hercules' life can be interpreted as the story of every-man. Hercules was the son of the most significant figures in Greek mythology, yet he was made to struggle through incredible difficulties in order to fulfill the purpose of his life.
Daniel Wallace, author of the novel BIG FISH, A TALE OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS borrows some elements from Hercules' life to shape the story of his hero, Edward Bloom, who comes from decidedly regular parents. Use the links below to find the information you need for the chart in your study packet. Remember to carefully choose info and symbols. As the study guide mentions, the information will be used later to appreciate Wallace's allusion to Greek mythology.
Greece's Greatest Hero
Hercules' Map of Labors
WHY Hercules Had to Perform the 12 Labors
12 Labors of Hercules Cartoon
Daniel Wallace, author of the novel BIG FISH, A TALE OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS borrows some elements from Hercules' life to shape the story of his hero, Edward Bloom, who comes from decidedly regular parents. Use the links below to find the information you need for the chart in your study packet. Remember to carefully choose info and symbols. As the study guide mentions, the information will be used later to appreciate Wallace's allusion to Greek mythology.
Greece's Greatest Hero
Hercules' Map of Labors
WHY Hercules Had to Perform the 12 Labors
12 Labors of Hercules Cartoon
4. Viewing the Film
Follow the directions in your packet
for study of the film BIG FISH.
Come back to the website
when you're finished for steps 5 and 6.
5. Creative Writing - B
Directions for the Team Creative Writing challenge will be posted later.
6. Trivia Challenges
The critical eye for how details come together to create the meaning of the whole has been a main goal in this class. Test your visual literacy, your ability to read a film, and the good ole fashion research you did through a few trivia challenges.
BIG FISH - Average
10-9 You might be ready for the BIG pond, Biggy McBig.
8-7 Do you feel like you got beat up in a field of daffodils?
6-5 "Where am I? Is this France? Oh, the woods. Ok."
BIG FISH - Difficult
10-9 Even Nabakov might say you don't need to "re-read" this one.
8-7 "So I don't pay attention to what a person wears, big deal. I'm still a big fish."
6-5 You're a SMALL fish in a SMALL SMALL pond, Smally McSmall.
BIG FISH - Average
10-9 You might be ready for the BIG pond, Biggy McBig.
8-7 Do you feel like you got beat up in a field of daffodils?
6-5 "Where am I? Is this France? Oh, the woods. Ok."
BIG FISH - Difficult
10-9 Even Nabakov might say you don't need to "re-read" this one.
8-7 "So I don't pay attention to what a person wears, big deal. I'm still a big fish."
6-5 You're a SMALL fish in a SMALL SMALL pond, Smally McSmall.
7. Interview with the Author of BIG FISH
The text from an interview with Daniel Wallace is provided here. Access the link and learn about Wallace's motif's, literary allusions, structure for the novel, and many other influences on his writing. The first half of the interview is the source for completing the cross word puzzle.
Image Sources:
Big Fish in tub http://www.myvideostore.com/images/gallery/56742/3.jpg
Woman in Water http://www.myvideostore.com/images/gallery/56742/3.jpg
Soldier: Dorman Leighty, found on http://alamedanavalairmuseum.wordpress.com/
Hercules http://undertheblacksky.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/hercules.jpg
Collaborative Writing http://apps.carleton.edu/global_stock/photostock/105726_tn.jpg
Question Marks http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/sen11/news/images/questions.jpg